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Red Wine Health Benefits Overstated

New Research has indicated that the benefits of red wine could have been overstated. Research team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has informed that there is no clear proof for the wine ingredient resveratrol to offer health benefits.

Medical research carried out in the past has indicated that French people have low incidents of heart disease and better heart health has been linked to regular consumption of red wine in France. However, US researchers have carried out a study in two small towns in Tuscany. British Heart Foundation has also carried out a separate study on the impact of resveratrol on heart health.

Resveratrol, the antioxidant found in abundance in red wine, has been linked to better heart health and also found helpful in preventing cancer in the past. The current study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has said that there are no health benefits of resveratrol. The current study has confused us further regarding the “French paradox” as the people in France have better heart health even after consuming high amount of saturated fats and high cholesterol diet.

The study team from US worked with University of Barcelona researchers and analyzed the health records of 783 men and women over 65 years. The team analyzed the 24–hour urinary resveratrol metabolites among the study subjects.

Study lead Dr. Richard D. Semba from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore said, “The story of resveratrol turns out to be another case where you get a lot of hype about health benefits that doesn't stand the test of time. These are complex foods, and all we really know from our study is that the benefits are probably not due to resveratrol.”

The daily food intake of the study subjects was analyzed. The urine samples were taken to check the amount of resveratrol. The research team found that during the study period, 268 study subjects died. Out of them 174 suffered heart disease and 34 had cancer.

Dark chocolate, red wine and some berries have been recommended by health experts in past studies as they have ample amount of resveratrol. The research team has added that more studies are required on a larger scale, to confirm the benefits of resveratrol and other types of antioxidants for heart health.